Thursday, October 29, 2009

There is an important trail work day THIS Sunday. If you ride, run, hike, or gallop in the Frederick Water Shed please help the trails you love. Meet at the Sandflats parking area at 9:00am sharp. I will bring coffee and donuts to further entice you. Hope to see you there.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

It seems everyone was anxious to hit the trails following the week of rain that just passed. I had a great time on two wheels and I hope you did the same. After the ride I a grabbed some Indian food at the Clay Oven. A nice way to end a great ride.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Bikes and Art at Howard Community CollegeThe Bike Project: A Visual, Literary and Cinematic Celebration of Biking in Our World,October 8-November 15. Reception October 24, 5-7pm.

(Columbia, MD) – Howard Community College features “The Bike Project: A Visual, Literary and Cinematic Celebration of Biking in Our World.” The project includes multimedia exhibitions and a film festival. A reception to will be held on October 24, 5-7pm at The Rouse Company Foundation Gallery in the Horowitz Center for Visual and Performing Arts. The exhibition, reception, and film festival are free and open to the public.

The Bike Project: A Literary Exploration explores biking through writing. Bikers often share the joys and challenges that they experience from the physical, social and emotional aspects of biking through writing, in blogs, sports publications and online forums. Based on the NPR writing project titled, “This I Believe...”, bikers were asked to respond, in writing, to the theme, “I bike because…” Over 50 riders, most of those whom are not writers, responded. Their candid, insightful and creative responses express a well rounded and poignant picture of the power of biking in their lives, and those around them. Copies of their writings are available at the galleries.

The Bike Project: An Exhibition is invitational exhibition held in The Rouse Company Foundation Gallery. While the literary component of The Bike Project focused on bikers, who are not necessarily artists or writers, the exhibition does the opposite. Established artists—painters, sculptors, photographers, ceramic artists, printmakers, etc—who are not necessarily avid cyclists(though some are), were asked to create bike related artwork. An exciting number of artists (46) took on the challenge. The resulting artwork will be displayed in the galleries from October 8-November 15, 2009.

The Bike Project: Did You Get That??? Great Moments On(and Off) the Bike, Photos by Bikers is an openexhibition where bikers were asked to submit up to three photos of their choosing that depict their biking experiences. It will be shown in the Art Department Gallery October 8 – November 15, 2009.

The Bike Project – A Film Festival, runs October 19-23, in the Monteabaro Hall of the Horowitz Center for Visual and Performing Arts.Monday, October 19, 7pm, features two films: “Off Road to Athens” captures the personal struggles and sacrifices of 8 cyclists trying to make the U.S. Olympic team, and “24 Solo” follows Howard County resident and 24 Hour Solo World Champion Chris Eatough on his quest to a seventh consecutive title.Wednesday, October 21, 7pm, features three films-“The Collective,” “Roam,” and “Seasons”- that portray the newest and cutting edge images of the freeride progression while exploring thoughts and personalities of the riders leading to the progression, as well as following seven of the world’s best mountain bikers through the course of 4 seasons of one year.Thursday, October 22, 7pm, features "Adventures for the Cure". "The Doc" chronicles the incredible, 6,500 mile trek made by 3 young men across the United States on single-speed, fixed gear bicycles in order to raise money and awareness for diabetes, and to help disabled children in Kenya. In particular, it focuses on one of the riders, Adam, who as a Type-1 diabetic has to manage his illness while riding up to 150 miles a day through rugged terrain, and on the touching stories of two diabetic children the group meets along the way. The film is narrated by three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond."Friday, October 23, 7pm, features “Klunkerz,” a thoughtful and accurate portrayal of the cycling enthusiasts of Northern California’s Marin County where mountain biking originated among a diverse group of cyclist racers and fun-loving hippies looking for a way to commune with nature. Their original hefty steeds were affectionately knows as Klunkerz.

Exhibit viewing hours are Monday - Friday,10 a.m. -8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. The Rouse Company Foundation Gallery is located in the Horowitz Arts Center on the Howard Community College campus at 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044. For more information about the exhibition and gallery programs, visit www.howardcc.edu or email RBafford@howardcc.edu.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

A few months ago a woman named Ann stopped by The Bicycle Escape with a very rusty bicycle and a story. The story goes that she grew up with little material wealth. The one treasure from her childhood was the pictured secondhand bicycle. It is a 1940s Sears J.C. Higgins cruiser. Ann’s goal with the restoration was to recapture a slice of her childhood and to proudly display this vintage machine in her home.

As the pictures suggest this was a daunting task. The bike was badly weathered. Rust and caked grease were everywhere. Parts were bent, cracked, and missing. Keeping the bike totally original was not a concern but maintaining a nostalgic look was important. With that in mind, we replaced the crank front wheel, seat, bar and stem, and of course the tires and tubes. The rear wheel was rebuilt using the original hub. This way we could retain the original character–adding skip-link chain and rings. The Chainring was brought back to life with help from Frederick's Brass and Copper Shop. Due to the extreme damage to the chain guard we had Paul of Brass Knuckle Kustom Work repair and reshape the guard.

While Paul hammered away, we stripped the rest of the bike and cleaned, degreased, and degreased, and degreased… The seat post is much thinner than modern styles so we machined an adapter to make the new saddle fit just right. We created new rack struts using fender hardware, cut the stem shaft down for a better fit, and did all sorts of other things that I have forgotten.

The frame came out of finishing looking bright and shiny. For this project we used Chris of Toxic Art who applied a combination of powder coat and wet paint. The reassemble of the bike went smother than anticipated and the finished product is even more amazing that we imagined.

Finally, the bike is ready for a warm and joyful homecoming. Thank you Ann for the challenge and thrill of another Bicycle Escape restoration project!

Saturday, October 03, 2009

SwissStop brakes have landed in Frederick, Maryland! TBE is now the home of the finest brake pads in the business. SwissStop brake pads have been held in such high regard we could not go another second without them. They are available in compounds suited for carbon fiber rims, disc brakes and good-old-fashioned alloy hoops. www.thebicycleescape.com